Nostalgia & History > Train X

The other day I was reading the obits in our local paper, and one noted that the deceased had been a mechanical engineer and had worked on the Train X project in the 1950s. I remember reading something about this experimental trainset years ago. It came out the same time that the Aerotrain did. I couldn't find anything much doing a search on the net.

Can anyone direct me to a site with more information?

Thanks

New York Central and New Haven each bought one. They were powered by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton RP210 diesels, which used a V-12 German Maybach engine coupled to a four-speed hydraulic transmission to drive the two-axle lead truck.

NYC's train have five cars and was called the "X-plorer". The New Haven called their Train X "Dan'l Webster"; it had nine cars and a locomotive on each end. Both trains were sold to the Pickens Railroad in South Carolina in 1960. The New Haven's Talgo train, the "John Quincy Adams," had a Fairbanks-Morse P12-42 on each end, and the Budd RDC-based "Roger Williams" was also double-ended.

"Diesel Locomotives of the New York Central System" by Edson, Vail and Smith has about six pages of information on the units, including a drawing. There's also a photo of one car.

This site has an interesting story on the Dan'l Webster:
http://www.kelseypub.com/ct-guide/railroad/danlfire.shtml

Here's one with pix of both trains:
http://baldwindiesels.railfan.net/rp210/index.html

A search for New Haven Railroad Dan'l Webster will turn up additional info.

What on earth did the Pickens do with them? Paint them bright blue?

C&O Color Guide has a picture of a predecessor, a couple of cars displayed at the 1949 RR Fair (when Robert Young was at C&O). A sign reads,
WIN $1000.00
Help Chessie
Name "Train X"

I think they were black on Pickens. Surprisingly, NYC's train was blue and yellow/gold.

The book you'll want is "New York Central and the Trains of the Future" by Geoffrey H. Doughty, 1997, 102 pp, B&W and color, TLC Publishing, 1387 Winding Creek Lane, Lynchburg, VA, 24503.

Six chapters plus five appendices: covers early streamliners (briefly), NYC (Robert R. Young, passenger issues and Train X, Aerotrain, Jet RDC) with stories on the NYNH&H (Comet, Train X, Talgo, UA Turbo), PRR (Aerotrain) and extensive concept and prototype drawings / photos.

Great Book in my humble opinion. Nobody can say that somebody didn't try... and hard.

-Richard
HG Tower

HG-Tower Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Six chapters plus five appendices: covers early
> streamliners (briefly), NYC (Robert R. Young,
> passenger issues and Train X, Aerotrain, Jet RDC)
> with stories on the NYNH&H (Comet, Train X, Talgo,
> UA Turbo), PRR (Aerotrain) and extensive concept
> and prototype drawings / photos.
>
> Great Book in my humble opinion. Nobody can say
> that somebody didn't try... and hard.
>

First, thanks to all for the information. I recall the Aerotrain well enough -- it used to come through my home town of Whiting, Indiana, and I remember seeing it several times.I've also seen the train set that is preserved in St. Louis.

Second, I do think that some of the railroads did try to save passenger service. The dome cars, the slumbercoaches, the "futuristic" trains -- all were an attempt to keep or to woo back an increasingly automobile dependent public. One wonders what would have been had there been an interstate rail project instead of or along with the interstate highway program. On the other hand, I recall riding trains in the sixties and it was not a pleasant experience, at least on the Pennsy. Of course, I did not take the Broadway...

Jerry
Whiting, Indiana